CHAPTER VII SIZE, CHARACTERISTICS AND PURPOSE OF LIVESTOCK AND USE OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS 1. INTRODUCTION Ethiopia is one of the most populous countries in Africa, having an estimated population of about 67.2 million in July 2002 with annual growth rate of 2.9%. This growing population demands much better economic performance than in the past, at least to ensure food security and other basic needs. The dominant economic feature of the country is the agriculture sector of which livestock is a very important and essential component. The highlanders raise livestock together with crop cultivation for their livelihood whereas the lowlanders or the ‘pastoralists’ subsistence is based mainly on livestock and livestock products. Consequently, the government should give due attention to this sector in order to take advantage of its contribution to the economic growth and as a result to meet the needs of the expanding population. The livestock sector has been contributing significant portion to the economy of Ethiopia, but still has great potential to assist the economic development of this country. It is well known that livestock products and byproducts in the form of meat, milk, honey, eggs, cheese, and butter supply the needed animal protein that contribute to the improvement of the nutritional status of the people. Livestock also plays an important role in providing export commodities, such as live animals, hides and skins to earn foreign exchanges to the country. On the other hand, draught animals provide power for the cultivation of the small holdings and for crop threshing virtually all over the country and are also essential modes of transport to take holders and their families long- distances, to convey their agricultural products to the market places and bring back their domestic necessities. Livestock as well confer a certain degree of security in times of crop failure, as they are a “near-cash” capital stock. Furthermore, livestock provides farmyard manure that is commonly applied to improve soil fertility and also used as a source of energy. By virtue of the important role that the livestock sector plays in the economy of the country, formulation of development plan regarding the sector is vital. It is therefore imperative that livestock development plans should be formulated on the basis of reliable statistical data, and hence, timely and accurate livestock data are required for the formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of development plan and program in the sector. These livestock data can be generated more often than not using surveys and censuses. The Central Statistical Authority (CSA) has been generating livestock data through sample surveys since 1981 (1973 E.C.). However, based on the results of these surveys, CSA was not able to satisfy the growing demand of the data users regarding the sector. Realizing this fact, CSA proposed and conducted the first agricultural census in the year 2001/02. As mentioned earlier in Chapter II, agricultural censuses are classified into two categories: censuses conducted by complete enumeration or conducted by sample enumeration. In agricultural censuses conducted by complete enumeration, data are collected from all holders and the result for each variable is obtained by totaling the values of the respective variable from all holders. On the other hand, agricultural censuses conducted based on sample enumeration are probability sample surveys for which a sample is selected and the method of estimation for each census variable permits establishing its statistical precision. Therefore, conducting complete enumeration is more expensive, time consuming and requires large number of personnel. Likewise, quantity of data to be processed is very large (FAO, 1996). By considering these realities and the economic condition of the country, the sample enumeration was favored. The livestock census was carried out as part of the agricultural census. The general objective of the livestock census is to establish benchmark data that could be used for development planning and policy formulation regarding the sector, and the specific objectives are to purvey quantitative information on the size and characteristics of the livestock in rural and urban areas at wereda level, and to provide estimates on size and characteristics of livestock for pastoral areas and commercial farms. In order to meet these objectives, data on: livestock number by type, age, sex, purpose and breed; livestock products particularly milk, egg, and honey; livestock diseases and vaccination; livestock product utilization; and animal feed were collected from sampled agricultural households in rural and urban areas as well as from all commercial farms. In addition, these same data will be collected from pastoral areas in the near future. The expected users of these data are government organizations involved in planning purposes, individuals or firms raising livestock, non-governmental organizations that provide technical and financial assistance, international organizations which are interested in livestock, and research organizations. In this chapter of the report: estimates of livestock that include cattle, sheep, goats, draught animals (horses, mules, asses and camels), poultry and beehives were made based on the information obtained from the holders within the sampled agricultural households both in rural and urban areas as to the reference date (February 8,2002) and reference period (February 9,2001 to February 8, 2002). Thus, the results obtained from the livestock census for the rural and urban areas of the region as well as brief discussions made on the results are presented in this chapter. Also the census results at zonal and wereda levels are presented in statistical Tables 7.1–7.36. Moreover, the estimates, standard errors (SE), and coefficients of variation (CV) are given in Annex Tables 7.1-7.10 for some relevant variables. 2. LIVESTOCK NUMBER BY BREED, AGE, SEX, AND PURPOSE This livestock census is the first of its kind in the nation to supply data on the size and characteristics of livestock for rural and urban areas and commercial farms at wereda level, and also for pastoral areas though the census not yet conducted. The livestock census that was carried-out in Benshangul-Gumuz Region was part of the national census and covered both rural and urban areas of the region on sample basis. Commercial farms that are found in the region were also covered on complete enumeration basis though the results are not presented here. The total number of each type of livestock as well as the numbers disaggregated by breed, age, sex, and purpose possessed by holders on the reference date (February 8, 2002), irrespective of ownership, were recorded by interviewing each holder in the sampled agricultural households both in rural and urban areas of the region. The numbers also include the livestock belonging to the holding but temporarily away or in transit at the time of the enumeration. 2.1 Cattle The estimates of cattle for rural and urban areas in Benshangul-Gumuz Region are presented in Summary Table VII.1. As shown on the table, the total cattle population for the region is estimated to be 309,627. Out of this total cattle population, the female cattle constitute about 56.2 percent (174,119) and the remaining 43.8 percent (135,508) are male cattle. The majority (92.6 percent) of the cattle population is found in rural areas, while small proportion is accounted for urban areas (7.4 percent). Regarding age groups, the majority of the cattle population (that is about 58.4 percent) is in the 3 years and under 10 years age category, with about 24.3 percent male and about 34.1 percent female. Moreover, about 39.4 percent are under three years and small portion, which is 2.2 percent, is over 10 years (also see Fig VII.1). On the other hand, according to the results obtained, it can be said that almost no hybrid and exotic breeds are reported in the region and that virtually means all cattle in the region are local breeds. The distribution of cattle by purpose is indicated in the same table. Among cattle aged three years and under ten years, those used for draught purposes accounted for 38.3 percent and the percentage share of beef cattle is the lowest that is about one percent. SUMMARY TABLE VII.1: Estimated Number of Cattle by Sex, Age, Breed, and Purpose for Rural and Urban Holdings Cattle on Both Rural and Urban Holdings Cattle on Rural Holdings Cattle on Urban Holdings Age, Breed, and Purpose Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Total.......................................... 309,627 100.0 135,508 43.8 174,119 56.2 286,736 92.6 126,516 40.9 160,220 51.7 22,891 7.4 8,992 2.9 13,899 4.5 Under 6 months.............................. 32,585 10.5 15,512 5.0 17,073 5.5 29,857 9.6 14,278 4.6 15,579 5.0 2,728 0.9 1,234 0.4 1,494 0.5 6 months - under 1 year.................. 31,664 10.2 15,300 4.9 16,364 5.3 28,966 9.4 13,903 4.5 15,063 4.9 2,698 0.9 1,397 0.5 1,301 0.4 1 year - under 3 years..................... 57,743 18.6 27,173 8.8 30,570 9.9 53,060 17.1 24,798 8.0 28,262 9.1 4,683 1.5 2,375 0.8 2,308 0.7 3 years – under 10 years................. 180,811 58.4 75,211 24.3 105,600 34.1 168,259 54.3 71,299 23.0 96,960 31.3 12,552 4.1 3,912 1.3 8,640 2.8 10 years and older .........................